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Keeping Focused on the War Against Terrorism Earlier this month I sent Alabama Homeland Security Director Jim Walker to an intelligence conference at CIA headquarters. This was the first conference of its kind where homeland security officials from all over the United States were brought together to discuss the latest intelligence about our nation’s war against terrorists. In Director Walker’s briefings to me after the conference, I was struck at how far-reaching and comprehensive our efforts to make America safer have been to date. As a nation, we have mobilized the federal government, every state and territory, counties, cities, and all of our public safety activities to defeat an enemy determined to shake our resolve and destroy our way of life. As I reflected on what I learned from these briefings, I was reminded of three essential facts about the world we live in post-9/11. First, we are truly at war. The threat to the survival of our country is as real as it was during World War II and the Cold War. Second, the most important asset in America’s war against terrorism is the individual citizen. We are now sharing more intelligence information with the American public than at any other time in our nation’s history. We do this because there are terrorists living among us here in America, and because an informed public is the best weapon against the terrorists. Several suspected terrorists were apprehended in the past few weeks thanks to the actions of individuals who reported suspicious behavior to law enforcement authorities. Not only did the actions of these brave people result in arrests, they also led authorities to valuable information about the terrorists’ plans and intentions - information that is helpful in preventing future attacks. Third, too few Americans have prepared themselves for a possible terror attack in the future. In a recent national poll, 74 percent of Americans surveyed said terrorism is now a part of the fabric of American life, yet less than a third said they have taken actions to prepare their families for an attack. Each of us has a responsibility to our family to prepare for a terrorist attack, even if it is as modest as having a plan on how to contact each other in the event of an attack. We each have a responsibility to our communities and our nation to report suspicious activities. We have a responsibility at work to protect our fellow workers and our workplace by knowing who and what is entering our stores, schools, farms and factories. We will win the war on terror, but it is going to take time and it will take a concerted effort by all of us to do it. If we stay prepared and alert, we make it so much harder for the terrorists to hide among us and to carry out their evil plans.
As your Governor, I can say the state is doing everything it can to keep terrorism and terrorists out of Alabama. One example of our efforts is a training exercise I witnessed just a few days ago. Some 80 law enforcement officers from throughout the state were going through an intense training session on how to detect bombs hidden in vehicles. Alabama is also one of only two states in the nation that has the authority to use specially trained State Troopers to enforce federal immigration law. Alabama is the first state to establish its own cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security. This department coordinates statewide efforts to prevent, protect against and respond to terrorism in Alabama, in addition to overseeing the distribution of federal homeland security grant dollars to our local law enforcement and first responders.
The state and the nation have done much to thwart terror attacks, but we must all work together. Please get involved, be prepared and stay informed. Together, we will win the war against terrorists. | |
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